


Something about a Rose

by Cryocene



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Comfort/Angst, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-22 09:59:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9603077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cryocene/pseuds/Cryocene
Summary: Adam Taurus is a monster. He shows no mercy for his enemies and is even more hateful towards betrayal. However for the White Fang, Adam is a father to his men. Like any leaders, he visits Vale to honor the deaths of his subordinates during the Breach. Little does he know though, that he will meet a girl with scattering roses, not unlike his own wilting ones





	

**Author's Note:**

> Author Note: Greetings my readers! My name is Cryocene and this is my first RWBY fan fiction! A one-shot story I call "Something about a Rose".
> 
> I'm relatively new to the world of fan fiction but I expect criticism from all of you, positive, or negative. This is my effort to try and make an Adam x Ruby fic, without altering any of their personalities. This is just as one-shot, and I have no plans to continue it further unless I have the time for it (heck, I barely have any time to write on this).
> 
> Without further ado, let's get to the reading!

Adam was in trouble.

As he walked through the streets of Vale, Adam found that the city had more or less reverted back to its peaceful state, even though the breach of Mountain Glenn had hit the city just two days prior. He was expecting the rushed out invasion to be anticipated quickly by Ironwood's army and Beacon's Hunters, but he didn't expect for the citizens to recover just as quickly.

_How could there be so many people? It's almost as if the breach never even happened!_

Adam rechecked his disguise. His clothing now consisted of a black, short-sleeved top with a combat vest, cargo pants and a pair of combat boots. Since he couldn't wear his mask, he had to resort to red tinted sunglasses to protect his identity.

For good measure, Adam was also listening to music with ear-buds. Faunus found ear-buds very uncomfortable because of their sensitive hearing, so using them would convince most people that he was human (he tuned the volume to the lowest possible setting though). Adam also painted his horns red, so unless one paid attention closely, it would be recognized as parts of his hair.

It wasn't a perfect disguise, as he still had his personalized black gloves as well as Wilt and Blush, but Adam had brushed it off as a non-issue since there shouldn't be a lot of people around after a Grimm invasion, especially around the breached tunnel he was going to visit.

Suffice to say, he was wrong.

_Calm down. No one should be able to recognize me._  He tried to calm his instincts. No matter how he looked at it, only a few could recognize that he was, in fact, Adam Taurus of White Fang. And among those few, most weren't even in Vale.

_Except for Blake._

Adam had to be careful. According to his Lieutenant's report, Blake was now a Huntress-in-training for Beacon. If that was true, it was entirely possible to stumble upon her in the middle of this. And it was nigh-impossible for her to not recognize him.

_As much as I would love to torment her... now is not the time._  Adam saw red, but he had learned better than to let his emotions ran wild. He couldn't afford to be recognized by anyone, at least not before the Vytal Festival. If there was even a single report of his sightings here, Ironwood would probably conduct a large scale manhunt for him.

Although that would certainly help Cinder's master plan to spread negativity throughout Vale, it might delay her plans for the Vytal Festival, and Adam was not willing to entertain the idea of aiding her more than he was asked -or, forced- to.

"Tch." Adam scoffed. When he thought about it again, she was the root cause for all of this. Forcing the White Fang to work together with that damned Torchwick, stealing Dust in quantities much more than was necessary and got unnecessary casualties as a result, and culminating in a huge and pointless waste of lives for a Grimm invasion... that failed miserably.

And she was still going to use the White Fang to attack Vale during the Vytal Festival.

_Damn that witch._

His subordinates shouldn't be hers to command. Forces of the White Fang shouldn't be used for some human cause. The faunus who joined the White Fang were willing to put their lives on the line for the faunus independence and human subjugation, not some shady goals of a human... no, a  **witch**.

_If only I killed her in our first meeting... then perhaps I wouldn't have to mourn my brothers and sisters like this._

Adam snapped out of his thoughts as he arrived in front of his destination- the breached tunnel leading to Mountain Glenn.

* * *

Inside the tunnel, Adam found himself in awe at how heavily guarded the place was. There were eight Atlas soldiers who stood by, watching over what was most likely an entire battalion of Atlesian Knights.

_Damn, Ironwood sure is hell-bent on this_. Logical enough, if they were to seal the tunnel again they had to make sure the Grimm were not going to interrupt the construction.

It was also good news for him. That way he could pose as a Huntsman and volunteer to join the Grimm extermination to get to Mountain Glenn.  _Just as planned._

Adam turned his attention to the other things stationed there. Aside from a few heavy machines and metals for the seal construction, which were to be expected, there were numerous suspicious crates. Judging from the SDC symbol, the crates probably contained Dust.

_So they are planning to lace the seals with Dust explosives, this time_. He supposed building seals that could make the tunnel collapse on the Grimm were effective, if a bit overkill.

Something was off, however. _What did they do with the train?_  He couldn't find the train used for the breach, or at least what was left of it.

His question was answered when Adam noticed a single light appeared within the dark tunnel ahead. As it approached the entrance, it was clear that the light came from the very same train that he saw two days earlier.

_They had repaired the train in two days!?_ Adam was baffled. How did they manage to do that? He had personally seen the aftermath of the breach, and the train was... well, to say it was wrecked would be an understatement. 

_Is it even safe for work?_

Seeing as half of the robots jumped onto the train's numerous cargoes and five of the soldiers casually entered the control car, it seemed safe enough.

_So they were transporting their forces using the train..._  Then he had to join them.

"Hey." Adam called to the three soldiers that were left there. "Is this train heading for Mountain Glenn?"

The soldiers immediately turned their attention to him. "You are a Huntsman?"

_Here comes the difficult part..._  He kept his expression neutral. "I am. I was sent for the extermination of Grimm."

Adam stood still as the soldiers evaluated him. He needed them to think that he was one, after all.

Before long, one of them extended a hand to him. "Can you show us your ID?"

"Of course." Adam shrugged and pulled out his Hunter ID.

"...Mr. Mars Charcoal?" The soldier asked for confirmation.

_Huh, sounds like an idiot's name._   _Couldn't Torchwick come up with a better name when he forged this?_  He nodded regardless, it was supposed to be his name.

The soldiers seemed to be convinced. "We are grateful to receive the assistance of a professional Hunter. Get in the train, it's leaving in eight minutes."

_Well, that was easy._  "Thank you."

As he made his way to the train, Adam figured he shouldn't be with the Atlas soldiers at the control car. With that in mind, he settled for a cargo's roof, since the cargo itself was full of robots.

_Now all I have to do is to wait..._  He was just about to sit down when he heard his scroll beeping. As he displayed the screen, it was a message.

_LT: "Yo boss. We have secured your escape route."_

Adam smirked at the news.

_Bull: "Good. Stay in your position until I say otherwise."_

Adam was about to shove his scroll back to his pocket before the Lieutenant sent him another message.

_LT: "You sure about this, boss?"_

The bull faunus frowned at that. He already knew where this was going.

_Bull: "We have talked about this, and my decision is resolute. I'm going to do this on my own."_

_LT: "You know, I should be the one going there, not you."_

The boss let out a long sigh.  _Here we go again._

_Bull: "They were my men. I'm the one they answered to, it is only natural for me to honor their sacrifice."_

_LT: "They were also my men. I'm their lieutenant. And I was on board the very train they died in."_

He saved as many comrades as he could, yet he still whined about the dead ones? Sometimes Adam couldn't understand the lieutenant.

_Bull: "You didn't fail them. If you feel responsible for their deaths, then you are belittling their sacrifice, lieutenant. And that's why you are not coming with me now."_

The Lieutenant seemed to pause for a moment. Adam knew his subordinates inside-out, including how to confront each and every one of them. The Lieutenant was no exception.

Although in the Lieutenant's case, their knowledge of each other was mutual.

_LT: "Funny, don't you feel the same? For letting all of this happening in the first place?"_

_He had no idea how correct he was,_  Adam thought. But he had prepared for a comeback.

_Bull: "What a joke. I'm here to respect their deaths, not to dwell in some self-imagined guilt."_

There was silence for a few moments. Adam was sure at the other end of the communication the Lieutenant was probably growling out of sheer annoyance.

_LT: "Fine. Honor our comrades then, boss."_

_Bull: "Will do."_

Adam resisted the urge to growl and shoved the scroll back to his pocket and took off his ear-buds in annoyance. He and the Lieutenant were similar in various ways, but the few things they did disagree on usually ended up into a lengthy and pointless debate like this.

Hopefully the rest of his day would not be as annoying.

* * *

"Come on Rubes, let's go!"

Ruby only nodded weakly as her blonde half-sister dragged her by her arm. Although usually she would be very happy when Yang asked her to go out together, today was Sunday, and team RWBY was given a break after their first mission.

And they were going to Mountain Glenn, the very site they visited for their first mission. A site that was pretty much secured by the army now.

_**WHY**_ _?_  It took all the patience Ruby had just to not say that aloud.

The red riding hood didn't complaint, however. Ruby knew her sister better than even her own Crescent Rose, and there weren't many such things in her world.

_Yang did things for a reason_. Well, most of the time for her own amusement, but any other times she would never do anything without a good reason to back it up.

And on top of that, her sister was displaying the Yang Xiao Long Distress Symptoms.

Earlier that morning the sisters had gone to Professor Ozpin for a permission to return to the Mountain Glenn.  _Just two days after visiting the site?_  Even the headmaster seemed to be curious.

_Symptom Number One: Unusual activities._

And then Yang was hiding the reason why.

_"You know Prof, we basically failed to stop the train from hitting the city. The invasion was our mess, so we can at least help solving it, right?"_  That was what Yang had said to the headmaster.

That didn't fool Ruby, of course. And she was sure Professor Ozpin wasn't, either. He still gave the permission, though.

_Symptom Number Two: Unusually secretive._

And after that Yang decided to bring only her along, and not the rest of team RWBY.

_"But Yang, if you are saying we are cleaning our own mess then Weiss and Blake should go with us!"_

_"Rubes, we are only helping the General's army. There's no need for all of us to be there."_

_"But-"_

_"Ruby, enough. We can handle this on our own."_

Ruby relented at that point.

_Symptom Number Three: Subtly asking for help, but only as much as she feels necessary._

Yep. Something was definitely wrong. Ruby couldn't tell what exactly, though. And as socially inept as she was, even she knew there were some things that you just didn't ask out of the blue.

_Think, Ruby. When was the last time Yang displayed these symptoms?_  She could barely remember: unlike her, her sister could hide her insecurities and troubles very well.

_I think... the last time was after Mom died..._ She frowned slightly at the memory.  _Was it because of-_

Ruby yelped as a sudden yell from an Atlas soldier snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Hey, you two! What are you doing here?"

"We are Huntresses sent by Beacon." Yang answered.

"Huntresses? ...At your age?"

"In-training," Ruby added, "But we did receive permission from our headmaster to join the Grimm extermination in Mountain Glenn."

"From Professor Ozpin?"

"Here it is."

Ruby handed the soldiers her scroll, which displayed Ozpin's hologram.

"Atlas soldiers, I presume?" Ozpin said with an authoritative tone.

"Yes sir."

"These two had received my permission to join in the Grimm extermination in Mountain Glenn."

"Forgive us for our rudeness, but we answer to General Ironwood, not you, sir. And the General has ordered only qualified Hunters of Vale to join the mission."

Ruby noticed that Yang's fists were clenched.  _Uh oh_. Ozpin on the other hand, appeared calm as always.

"I will have a talk with the General. For now, please allow these two to join this mission. I assure you that this disobedience won't result in disciplinary actions for any of you."

The three Atlas soldiers appeared hesitant, and looked at each other for a moment. One nodded, one shook his head, and the other shrugged.

"Can you at least assign a Hunter to watch over them?"

"I suppose myself will suffice?"

The three soldiers and the sisters jumped at the declaration. The headmaster only took a sip from his mug before continuing.

"Right now, I'm not exactly in any business. Watching over my students as a Huntsman would be a good exercise."

"Y-you will come here? To accompany these two?"

"They deserve that much. If you insist a Hunter, then I will be there."

"No! Couldn't you send one of your teachers in your place?"

"All of them are busy with their classes, while these girls need to go now. As the only Hunter with free time, I should go."

The three soldiers quickly reconsidered their opinion. "If... you are willing to go that far... we suppose we can allow these two to join in."

"Without a Hunter?"

"Without a Hunter."

"Thank you soldiers."

Ruby and Yang smirked at each other, amused by the headmaster's tactics in manipulation. _Way to go, Professor..._

As the soldiers complied to their request, the sisters barely managed to stifle their laughters as they walked further into the tunnel. After they made enough distance from the soldiers, Ruby whispered to her scroll.

"Thank you Professor."

"Yeah, you saved us Prof."

"I'm only happy to help, Miss Rose, Miss Xiao Long."

"Are you sure it's fine, though?" Ruby bit her lip. "It won't get us -or you- into trouble?"

"I'm already having some problems with the General, Miss Rose. This is nothing in comparison."

"Problems?" Yang raised a brow. "What's happening between you and him?"

"A lot of things, but you don't need to worry about it. In any case, you two should be careful. Even though the Atlas army and no doubt a few Hunters are there, you don't know what things could happen."

"Aye aye, Professor!" Ruby saluted.

"Of course Prof." Yang nodded.

"Good."

As the hologram disappeared, the sisters were left beside themselves.

"Well, that was a thing." Yang commented.

Any comment Ruby was about to made was interrupted as the two of them noticed a familiar train coming their way.

"Oh, they fixed the train."

"In just two days? Wow, Miss G must be involved with the repair."

Ruby snickered. "Probably."

* * *

"This area is secure!" Adam signaled to the Atlesian Knights behind him, just after decapitating a Beowolf with Wilt. The robots immediately turned to other directions, looking for more threats.

The extermination turned out to be extremely easy. All he had to do was defending the robots from the tougher and smarter Grimm that could get close to them, while the robots would dispatch the lesser Grimm on their own.

_Ironic,_  Adam chuckled. Atlesian Knights were the most frequent opponents he faced in most of his operations, and yet here he was, defending -and sometimes even commanding- them.

_Blake's books were telling the truth. Irony is delicious._

He looked around. There was no more Grimm around as far as his sight was concerned. The robots had scattered in groups and left him alone, and the human soldiers were mostly centered around the entrance to the town.

_I suppose it's time._

Adam entered the tallest building on the town, and made his way to the top.

* * *

As he finally reached the rooftop of the highest building in the subterranean town, Adam finally got a good view of the town. It was more beautiful than he thought, seeing the stalactites decorating the ceiling above and the buildings decorating the ground below, it made quite an impressive panoramic view.

_Did_ _my brothers_ _enjoy this view before their deaths?_  The faunus questioned in his mind. Probably not, considering their mission to load weapons on the train required them to be mostly on the ground, probably only a few who was ordered to patrol around got to see this.

Adam took a deep breath.  _Let my words reach your spirits._

"I know all of your deeds, brothers of the White Fang." He spoke calmly, to no one in particular.

"After all our days as comrades, you have become more than just companions. There isn't a single one of you whom I do not know; I know your dreams, your hopes, and what you seek to accomplish."

"But in spite of that, you relinquished your selfishness for the sake of our race. You were willing to throw away all that made each of you a person for the sake of the White Fang. The mask you hold is proof."

"And yet here I am, betraying your pledge and loyalty to our cause by reducing ourselves into lapdogs of a mere human."

The redhead could feel a lot of emotions inside him stir. Anger. Disgust. Shame.

Mostly directed toward himself.

"If you were alive, you would probably say that none of this is my fault. In a sense, you would be right. I'm not taking responsibility over things I have no control over, and your deaths were not in vain, so I won't act like they were."

"Yet still, I am ashamed of my failure. I was soft, I let the root of all of this out of my grasp, only for her to return and threaten all of us. If I was more ruthless, then none of you would be sacrificed today."

The commander could barely restrain his emotions. He could practically taste his regret in his own voice. Adam chuckled at the feeling.

_It's a good thing_   _I_ _ha_ _ve_ _long since stopped shedding tears._

Usually, Adam preferred to control his emotions. Keep them in check, unleash them in the form of words and actions. His fighting style and even his Semblance were derived from that habit.

However, he remembered the advice his superior gave him. What his former mentor had taught him.

_Break when things are too much for you. Then reform. Stronger than you were._

This was his equivalent of breaking down, he supposed.

"And so today representing all of the White Fang, I, Adam Taurus shall relay this to all of you: we honor your heroic sacrifice. You shall not be forgotten among us, and I will personally carve your names on your tombstones as heroes of faunus in Managerie."

"And I promise you this: your dreams and aspirations shall not die with you. They shall live on within us, and we will make them a reality."

The bull faunus held his Wilt and Blush in front of him with his left hand. This was how the White Fang swore an oath.

"I swear, with our blades we will create independence for our kind, and with blades also we will deliver justice upon mankind."

After a few moments of silence, lowered his left hand. Then, with his right hand he pulled out a stalk of rose with black petals from his trouser pocket and held it high in the air.

"Thank you. For entrusting your lives to me."

With the rose in front of his eyes, he whispered.

" **And thus, may you kindly wilt.** "

Adam then threw the flower into the air, and with his hair glowing red, he sliced the rose mid-air with his Moonslice, scattering its petals.

He kept silent and watched as the scattering petals slowly dissipated into nothingness, courtesy of his Semblance.

_...Maybe Blake was right. My Semblance can be beautiful at times._  Adam thought as he sheathed his Wilt.

_Even if I am alone here… this is for the sake of those who were lost._

Despite being a warrior of a revolutionary force, Adam was considered quite the romanticist when it came to it. In various White Fang ceremonies such as the mourning speech, the redhead would be the one performing acts of symbolism, like what he just did.

After a few moments of silence, Adam judged this was enough. For him, and for them.

Just as he was about to turn back and walk home however, a feminine, almost child-like voice surprised him from behind.

"Are you okay!?"

* * *

Ruby remembered now. Yang was looking for her mother! How could she not realize it sooner? The Yang Xiao Long Distress Symptoms should be enough indication!

_Why now, though?_  Ruby asked herself. Why did Yang suddenly go out to search for her mother again?

_Did something happen during our last mission?_

Ruby couldn't help but wonder as she casually, effortlessly, and vertically bisected the last Beowolf in her sight with Crescent Rose. When the train arrived at the subterranean town, Yang told her to go ahead, while she herself stayed in the train.

_Could it be, that Yang's mom was there during the mission?_  Ruby knew how ridiculous her assumption was, but Uncle Qrow had a knack of appearing out of nowhere just at the right time to save the day. Maybe it was a Branwen thing.

She was slightly relieved, though.

_At least Yang was not as desperate at that day..._

Ruby could barely recall what happened, but if there was anything she remembered, it was that haunted look on her sister's face, when looking for her mother.

_I would do_   _ **anything**_ _to_ _prevent her from making that kind of face_ _again..._

Ruby transformed her scythe back to its folded state, and put in on her back. Without any threat around her, she found herself just staring at the scenery around.

Although Prof- no, Doctor Oobleck said that the town was more or less Remnant's largest tomb and proof of humanity's dark history, it was surprisingly nice, save for the Grimm lurking around and the fact that Torchwick and the White Fang used it for their operations.

_It's really not bad looking... exotic, even._

Ruby continued to enjoy the scenery until she noticed... someone on the rooftop of a building, the tallest one in the town's center.

_Wait, who... is that?_

Ruby quickly deployed her Crescent Rose and transformed it to its sniper rifle mode. With the scope, she observed the person.

It seemed to be a man in his twenties. He had red hair, and what seemed to be a pair of horns on his head. He had clothing designed for combat, was carrying a sheath for sword, and used sunglasses.

_I_ _s he a_   _H_ _un_ _tsman_ _?_

Ruby became excited. She was observing a real Hunter! Well, not counting her Dad and Uncle, but Ruby rarely saw them in action. And the only Hunter she had seen in action recently was Doctor Oobleck... which was cool, but not her expectations.

_But... what is he doing there? Why not fighting below?_

"He seemed to be talking... to himself?"

_If only I learned how to lip-read..._

As Ruby continued observing, she was startled as the Huntsman suddenly frowned.

_Huh?_  Ruby focused on his expressions. His eyes were obscured by the sunglasses, but from his other facial features it was clear that he was... angry?

_No, not just that..._

He looked like herself when she was caught by Yang or Dad after stealing cookies...

_Shame?_

_Why? Why all of a sudden? He will attract the Grimm!_  Ruby became worried, and looked at her scope again.

However, what she saw after gave her a shock.

"Huh?!"

On the face of a Huntsman she didn't even know, was written something terrible.

That empty expression. That broken smile. It was all too familiar to her.

Wasn't it the same as the one she had whenever visiting her mother's grave?

_Is he... grieving for someone? Who? Why here?_

Ruby didn't have any time to think as the Huntsman she was watching suddenly held his weapon out, like presenting it to someone.

She only stared blankly at that. In fact, she didn't know what to think: she was worried, concerned, and confused at the moment.

Which was why when the Huntsman pulled out a black rose, threw it into the air and sliced it into scattered petals, Ruby gasped in surprise once more.

_What is he doing? Slicing an innocent rose?_ Ruby wished she could ask.

Was he angry? Ashamed? Mourning? All of them?

After a few moments of reflecting what she just saw, Ruby couldn't take it anymore. She had to talk with this Huntsman.

No one should be feeling all of those together, Hunter or not.

* * *

"Are you okay?!"

_What the fuck!?_  Adam turned around and instinctively held the hilt of his Wilt, preparing to attack whoever was behind him.

"Whoa! Wait! I'm not an enemy!" The voice was frantic now, snapping Adam out of his surprise-induced panic.

"Huh?" He uttered.  _A human?_

As Adam got a good look at the one who startled him, it turned out to be a young girl, probably not older than sixteen. She wore a black blouse and skirt, a red cape, and carried Dust ammunitions. Clearly a Huntress, probably in-training.

_Did the Lieutenant say anything about a girl like this during the breach?_ _I think he did…_

Adam didn't have much time to think however, and after a moment, he decided against attacking the girl and returned to his normal stance.

"I'm sorry for that... but who are you? What are you doing here?" Adam asked.

"Uh, um," The girl visibly tensed up, probably from nervousness.

"I'm Ruby Rose, a Huntress-in-training from Beacon. I kind of volunteered to join this Grimm extermination mission..." She trailed off.

"Huntress in training?" Adam interjected. "I thought only fully trained Hunters are allowed to join...?"

"Well," Ruby twiddled her fingers, "I kinda got permission from Professor Ozpin..."

_From the headmaster himself?_  That received his attention. Only the most skilled students could receive approval from Ozpin, and that meant even if young, this girl could possibly be a threat.

_Wait._ Adam realized something.

_Did she just ask me, 'are you okay'? What does she mean?_

"Excuse me, I didn't understand your question earlier. What do you mean, 'are you okay'?"

If Ruby wasn't nervous before, she definitely was right now. "Y-you know... I've been... uh, observing you, since... I dunno, fifteen minutes ago?"

Adam blinked, although Ruby couldn't see that. "What?"

"Uh, I kinda... like Hunters, and it always excites me to see one in action. So I use my sniper rifle to... observe you... eh wait!" Ruby snapped herself out of her nervousness.

"I'm asking whether you are okay or not! What happened!?"

The bull faunus twitched at that.  _What?! She has been watching me?!_

Adam's instincts flared. His body screamed at him to silence this girl  **right now** , lest his cover might be blown. And yet, his rationale thought told him to be  **patient**. She used a sniper rifle, meaning she couldn't have understood what he said.

But then, why would she come at him? Was it because-

_Oh._  Adam came to another realization.

_Damn! Was my face emotional enough to be read?_

Then she probably came at him to snap him out of it, or he could have attracted Grimm.

Adam calmed down with that thought. His identity was still safe.

_Hmm... a talented_ _H_ _untress, I suppose. Just like Blake. If that was the case, then I guess I wouldn't need to kill any-_

"GROOAAR"

_Or not._  That was the sound of a Grimm, wasn't it?

Adam suddenly felt the urge to kick himself. His sudden panic attracted the Grimm.

_Shit._

Alerted by the same voice, Adam and Ruby turned to look below as dozen of theropod-like monsters were trying to climb the walls on the building they were on.

"Creeps!" Ruby shouted the given name of the Grimm.

"Huh." Adam scoffed in annoyance.

His business was done, and it's time for him to leave. And yet because of his carelessness, he had to fight Grimm again?

_Well, I'll blame this Red Riding Hood later._

Now though, he had to act like a Huntsman.

"You are a student chosen by Ozpin himself. You can help me, can you?" Adam asked in a challenging tone.

Unexpectedly, the girl beamed happily. "Of course, sir! What should I do?"

Ruby quickly drew her weapon, and to Adam's surprise, it transformed into a huge scythe bigger than the owner herself.

_That's unexpected_. Adam didn't praise it though; he preferred sword-type weapons more than any other.

"Support me with your sniper rifle as I go down there. After I cleaned this pack, follow me and show me your skills with that Grimm Reaper scythe." He smirked at the pun.

Ruby ignored the pun and saluted. "Got it! Oh, and sir?"

"Yes?"

"What's your name?" Ruby tilted her head slightly.

Adam sighed.  _Seriously? We are about to fight, remember?_

"Introductions can wait until after the fight. For now, just call me sir."

Adam jumped off the rooftop, quickly drew Wilt from Blush, and fired several times downward, simultaneously slowing down his falland blasting several Creeps to smithereens.

As he landed safely, Adam let out an order. "Shoot!"

"Fire in the hole!" Ruby replied as she repeatedly fired down at the rest of the Creeps. Adam too, quickly sliced any Grimm within the range of his Wilt before picking off the rest outside of his radius with Blush.

As the pack was quickly annihilated, Ruby too jumped off the building and used her sniper-scythe's recoil to land safely next to Adam, who was sheathing his Wilt.

"That was awesome!" Ruby squealed. "Did the sheath of your sword transform into a rifle when you pulled that sword out!?"

Adam realized that he couldn't express his questioning look with his sunglasses in the way, so he decided to ask.

"You noticed?"

"Eh, ehehehe... I'm sorry, I kinda love weapons. I think they call people like me 'weapon nerds'. I guess you can even tell from the designs of my Crescent Rose!"

Ruby held her weapon, rifle-mode, and showed it to Adam.

As Adam observed the weapon, it surely was well-made.

_Crescent Rose, huh? Quite a name._

He was genuinely impressed. It was not a sword, but it was named after roses. That's a plus in Adam's eyes.

"That's quite stylish, both in design and name. Rather than a weapon nerd, I think 'weapon specialist' would fit you better." He praised, a little too genuine on his part.

Ruby frowned slightly. "I don't like being called a 'specialist'. My uncle told me that specialists tend to think they are special. I don't want to think that I'm special."

Adam was taken aback.  _Was that modesty? Or low self-esteem?_

As far as he was concerned, humans were very arrogant, if Cinder was any indication.

He decided to humor her, then. "Oh, sorry for that. In return, I will answer your question. Indeed, my Blush transforms into a rifle when I pull out my Wilt."

Adam pulled out the red sword out of its sheath, before quickly sheathing it back again. A standard, yet practical demonstration of his art of quick drawing.

_She deserved that much, out of her observation skill alone._

"Oh! So it's named Wilt and Blush!" Ruby pointed out.

"I will tell you more... once we finish these Grimm off!"

"Don't worry! We will!"

As Ruby once again transformed her weapon into scythe mode, the rose-themed warriors face off against the Grimm.

* * *

Ruby was enjoying this.

As the red riding hood wrapped her scythe around a Beowolf and horizontally bisected it in half with the recoil, Ruby couldn't help but smirk as she, this Huntsman, and the Atlesian Knights practically stomped the incoming Grimm to the ground.

Ruby had to admit that half of the fun stemmed from the Huntsman who was fighting alongside her. The way he handled his sword -Wilt, as he named it- was certainly different than anyone she had ever seen.

Uncle Qrow's scythe could become a greatsword, Jaune used a broadsword, Weiss used a rapier, Blake used a katana and a sheath that functioned like cleaver, Pyrrha's weapon could become a xiphos, Yatsuhashi used another greatsword...

But none of them used their swords like this Huntsman did. Drawing the sword from the sheath, attack, then put it back again. She recalled it was an ancient style, called 'iaido'.

It was a new style for her, and Ruby had to admit, that kind of swordplay was second only to Uncle Qrow's sheer awesomeness with his sword and scythe in her record.

She couldn't help but feel sad, however, seeing the way he fought. His movements were contained and conservative, but something about it just felt... off.

Ruby couldn't quite describe it. It felt like Yang, but also unlike Yang. Whatever was it, Ruby was sure Uncle Qrow also gave off the same feeling as this man whenever he used his scythe.

_Emotions._  Ruby realized.

This man... fought with emotions, but they were calm and controlled. It was almost terrifying.

_Why would he hold back his emotions? Why not unleash them?_

Yang certainly proved that holding back in a fight would only cost the fighter. You have got to be serious to win. Why the Huntsman was holding back, she didn't know.

But she was even more curious about another thing.

_What kind of emotions is he holding?_ _What was he thinking up there?_

Unlike Yang, Ruby didn't know anything about this man. She couldn't guess.

_I... I want to know more about this man._

Was that normal?

Was it because Hunters are her idols?

Or was it because he seemed... so similar to her?

Those questions continued to stir in Ruby's head until a loud, massive roar interrupted her thoughts.

From the opposite end of the road she was in, a massive Deathstalker was walking toward them.

"GRRRRRR"

_What size!_  It was even bigger than the one in initiation. If she had to guess, it was probably as large as her house in Patch. The armor also seemed to be worn down- signs of experience.  _It must be very old, too._

And considering it also shrugged off the shots from the Atlesian Knights around it without visible damage, and wrecked the robots apart, it would be tough to defeat as well.

Even the Huntsman with her seemed to be surprised. "...Huh. They seemed to really have it against us, aren't they?"

"What do we do? Last time I fought one, I almost died, and that one is smaller than this!" Ruby said, panic slowly taking over.

The redhead beside her seemed to be thinking for a moment, before he seemingly noticed something and turned his head over his right shoulder.

"They really hate us." He said, sighing.

Ruby turned around, and found that a large number of Grimm -probably more than three dozens of them- consisting of Beowolves and Creeps, were also going after them from behind.

"When did they...?" Ruby paused.

_Oh right. That Deathstalker must be commanding the lesser ones!_

They were in trouble. A huge, old, intelligent Grimm was trying to ambush them with attacks from both sides!

_...I have a plan, but it's kinda risky._

However, she better put it into motion rather than did nothing.

"Hey, sir-" However, Ruby was cut off.

"Ruby Rose, can you jump over the pack behind us?" The Huntsman interjected suddenly.

"Eh?"

Jumping over them? She supposed she could, with her Semblance. Why though? Was he ordering her to run away?

A few moments later, Ruby suddenly realized what that would mean.

"What!? And leave you surrounded without back up? I won't do it! I won't run and leave you alone!" Ruby said fiercely.

"I'm not telling you to run. I'm telling you to  **save us both**." He countered firmly, turning his gaze at her.

Even with the sunglasses, Ruby suddenly felt so small seeing his face. But she didn't falter. She needed an explanation.

"How?"

"Fire your bullets at me from behind that pack."

"What?!" Ruby shouted at the ridiculous order.

"And try to destroy as many Grimm as possible when aiming at me." The Huntsman continued calmly.

"What kind of plan is that!?"

The Huntsman only sighed, and returned to his fighting stance.

"Huh?"

Ruby noticed that his hair seemed to faintly glow red.

He slightly unsheathed his Wilt, pulled the trigger of Blush, firing Dust bullets with most of the blade still in the sheath.

"What are you..." Ruby trailed off, as her attention was suddenly attracted.

The blade glowed brighter with each shot, as did the his red hair. It was as if the sword was absorbing the Dust projectiles.

"How?"

As the Huntsman emptied his clip on his own sword, he turned to her again.

"It's my Semblance. Now you understand, right? I'm trying to gather enough firepower to finish that thing in front of us in one hit."

Feeling excited and enlightened at the same time, Ruby saluted, "Understood, sir!"

Ruby then used her own Semblance to rush at the pack behind them, before jumping just as she sliced the first Grimm that tried to hit her, leaving scattering rose petals in her wake.

Twisting her body mid-air, Ruby landed behind the pack safely, unloaded her cartridge, and replaced it with another, larger one with her emblem on it. Then, she planted the blade of her scythe to the ground, before proceeding to fire through the Grimm pack -aiming at the Huntsman- repeatedly.

The new Dust ammunition quickly blew through the lesser Grimm before being absorbed by the Huntsman's sword. The Deathstalker behind him attacked with a swipe of its left pincer, but he leaped high into the air to avoid it.

One-fourth way to emptying the Dust cartridge, Ruby paused for a moment, both gauge the Huntsman's reaction and to adjust her aim at the now airborne target. He gestured.

_More!_  Ruby thought as she continued her barrage as he landed on the ground.

After a few more shots, the Huntsman finally gestured Ruby to stop, and sheathed his sword.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

The Huntsman laughed with a maniacal tone, Ruby knew it was to attract the Grimm at him.

As they charged at him, however, a single sword slash instantly decimated them all, disintegrating about one-and-a-half dozen Beowolves and Creeps  **and**  the massive Deathstalker into nothing but a storm of wilting rose petals.

Not expecting the roses, Ruby was captivated by the scene. The roses were so numerous that it took almost a minute before they disappeared completely, and even then, the impression still lingered in her eyes.

"..."

* * *

"Phew…"

Absorbing that much energy for the last attack took quite a lot from his Aura. No matter how powerful a Semblance was, it did consume enough Aura to match its usage.

Seeing the wilting roses around him though, Adam was convinced of one thing.

_Worth it_. He smirked.

Just a few moments after the roses disappeared completely though, a red-and-black blur quickly approached his personal bubble at high speed.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Ruby shouted in excitement.

"Ouch," Adam flinched at her loud squeal. Faunus had sensitive ears, after all.

"Keep it down, will you? You could attract more Grimm." Adam warned.

Ruby nodded, although judging from her grin it was clear she was still excited.

"Your Semblance is incredible! How does it work?"

"Hey, every Hunter has their fair share of secrets. I am included in that list." Adam dodged the question while trying to sound arrogant.

"Ehehe, I suppose it can't be helped then." Ruby commented, giggling.

The red riding hood then looked around, trying to find any leftover Grimm. Adam didn't bother: he knew his Moonslice's effective range, and he determined that there should not be a survivor.

After confirming the lack of the Grimm, Ruby turned at him again.

"So... now that the fight is over... can I know your name?"

_Oh, right. There's that._  Adam sighed. "Mars. Mars Charcoal."

"I see. May I call you 'Mars'? You don't seem that much older than me."

"Sure, why not?"

"Then..."

Ruby's face visibly saddened. Suddenly Adam felt uncomfortable.

_Don't tell me she is trying to pick up on the last conversation..._

"Mars, what were you doing up there?" Ruby asked again.

The nervousness and the joy she had on her face from before was gone. Now, she looked serious.

_Here we go again..._  Adam glanced past Ruby, and noticed that the Atlesian Knights from the other parts of the town were gathering around them, looking for threats.

Unfortunately for him, if there were that much robots watching them, he couldn't murder this girl and escape without leaving witnesses.

Adam could try to lie, but since she had been watching him, he doubted lies would fool Ruby. To make things worse, he couldn't dodge the question this time.

_Then_ _I_ _simply ha_ _ve_ _to face it head-on._

"...I am here to grieve."

Contrary to Adam's expectations, Ruby didn't appear to be surprised in the slightest. Instead, she seemed to mumble something under her breath, something like 'I was right'.

After that, she continued asking. "For whom, if I may ask?"

Adam thought about that for a moment.  _How should I answer_ _?_

If he brushed it off as private matter, there was some possibility that Ruby would get suspicious, and if that happened, she would report directly to Ozpin, which could not be allowed.

If he tried to lie and make up stories about people who died here before, that could work, but that couldn't explain why he went as far as symbolically grieve for them like he did. That kind of treatment was not normal for people of Vale, and his actions would also be suspicious.

But to tell the truth may as well result in the same thing. What should he do?

As he was deep in thought however, once again the advice from his former mentor returned to his mind.

_When you are lying, try to leave a glimpse of the truth. It will help you build more lies._

"I am here for the White Fang members who died in the breach two days ago."

At his answer, Ruby widened her eyes in surprise, but before she could say anything Adam continued.

"But I'm not a terrorist. I'll admit it though, I'm a sympathizer." Adam said.

That was not a lie. Adam was a soldier, a part of revolution, not a terrorist. And yes, a commander would also be a sympathizer to the organization's cause.

To his surprise, however, Ruby sighed in relief, and smiled.

"I see."

"Eh?"

Adam blinked his eyes behind the sunglasses. Ruby didn't appear to be repulsed at his statement. She even looked relieved.

_Wh_ _at_ _? How?_

He just admitted that he was sympathizing to a bunch of faunus terrorists. At least, that was how it was viewed by humans. How could she smile at that?

"W-what? 'I see'? Are you saying you are fine with it?"

"Why, of course I am. One of my friends is a White Fang sympathizer."

His ears couldn't believe what he was hearing.

_What!? That's impossible!_

A human could  **not**  become friends with a faunus, let alone a White Fang sympathizer. They were too racist, arrogant, and too full of themselves to ever consider that as a possibility. Even if they claimed to be your friend, they would abandon you when other humans began to pick on you.

"Wait…"

Ruby said that one of her friends was a White Fang sympathizer… why would she say that to him? Was she… trying to befriend him?

"You are telling me...  **that I'm your friend** **?** "

A human, trying to befriend him, a faunus? The day they met? The idea was so alien, unbelievable, and incomprehensible to his mind that Adam was convinced that this girl must have read the same smutty book as Blake.

"Close enough," Ruby chuckled, "I would like for us to be friends."

"What? Why?" Adam was baffled.

Ruby narrowed her eyes at him, as if the answer was obvious. "Do I need a reason to befriend someone, Mars?"

Adam flinched at her statement. "Well, not exactly. But… you are human, aren't you?"

"Yes, so what?" Ruby raised an eyebrow.

"Why would a human bother to befriend a faunus?" Adam asked, indirectly confessing that he was indeed a faunus.

Ruby rubbed the left side of her head.

"Do you think just because you have a pair of cool-looking horns on your head somehow makes you unworthy of being my friend?"

The bull faunus nearly gasped in shock.

_She… she noticed? Since when…_

Adam reflexively took a step back. "When did you notice?"

"Umm, since I saw you up there with my scope?"

He wasn't sure whether to feel offended because his disguise didn't work, or to feel astonished.

Ruby had noticed that he was a faunus since the moment she saw him, and the thought that he was part of White Fang didn't even cross her mind until Adam mentioned it himself.

That could only mean she was a fool, or she was genuinely trying to befriend him. The former of which was unlikely, and yet he couldn't bring himself to accept the latter possibility.

_That is impossible…_

And it was at that moment, he heard another voice in his head, one that was not coming from his superior.

In fact, it came from his pupil.

_People_ _ **can** __understand_ _each other_ _, Adam._ _Humans and faunus are people, give them a chance_ _._

Adam merely shrugged the statement as nonsense that day. Blake didn't know how many times he had given those chances. She would never understand the depths of his hatred.

But now, a tiny part of him asked himself. Maybe, just maybe, Blake was right.

Then...

_W_ _ho was it that actually didn't understand?_

Adam gazed at the small girl in front of him.

_Is this what Blake was saying?_

_Humans really could understand faunus?_

That moment.

He smiled.

* * *

_Yes!_

Ruby was almost unable to restrain her excitement. She managed to befriend a Huntsman!

_And not just any_ _Hunter_ _, too..._

Ruby couldn't help but think that Mars was... different. He was different from anyone Ruby had ever met.

He seemed to have problems accepting her invitation of friendship. Ruby felt pity at that, Mars clearly had been through a lot, to hesitate like that. Why would people discriminate fellow people? She would never -and probably didn't even want to- understand why.

And yet, that didn't mean Mars was unpleasant at all. If anything, she felt like she was drawn to him because of that.

And judging from that smile on his face, Ruby would like to think that it was a success!

_Mars is going to be one of the most interesting friends I ever have._

"So, are we friends now?" Ruby grinned.

"I suppose." Mars chuckled. "Then, may I call you, 'Ruby' as well?"

"Of course! Nice to meet you, Mars!"

Ruby was about to talk about his weapons when Mars suddenly drew out his scroll. Her heart sank, knowing what he would say.

"Oh, look at the time. Sorry Ruby, but I must go." Mars noted, shoving it back to his pocket.

"...The extermination mission isn't over yet, right? You should stay." Ruby said, looking down on his feet.

_Ugh, you dunce._  Ruby repeated Weiss' words for herself.

_Of course he had other missions, not just this._

Just as she was about to ask him whether they could meet again, however, his words surprised her.

"...We can meet again, Ruby."

"Eh?" Ruby was caught off-guard.

_How?_

"Scrolls? Are you going to give me your number, Mars?" She guessed.

The Huntsman chuckled. "Ha ha, no, of course not."

Ruby became impatient. "Then how?"

"You see, I am a particularly famous Huntsman. I have reputations and many names." He said, pointing his thumb at himself.

"Yeah?" Ruby tilted her head, not quite understanding what that was supposed to mean.

"I'm going to tell you what I am most well known for. You can ask your teachers, and I'm sure they will know me. We can meet then." He explained.

"Ohhhh!" Ruby became excited. "Then what? Tell me!"

To her surprise, Mars suddenly approached her, leaned his body forward, and whispered into her ear.

"I'm also known as Adam Taurus."

"Eh?"

Right after that, the man before her calmly turned his back on her, and walked away. Leaving her with stunned silence.

_Adam... Taurus?_

* * *

_You are late, Ruby_ _Rose_ _._

Adam thought as he made his way to the departing train, passing through Atlesian Knights, soldiers, and a young blonde girl on his way.

_You are too late, Ruby._

That girl. She was a light.

Like her silver eyes, she was a light of hope in this dark world.

However, she was too late.

_Why? Why were you not born during_ _**my** _ _time?_

She was the simple, honest soul Remnant needed.

Adam needed her too, once.

_Why do you come by now? After I've fallen this deep?_

He drew out his scroll and typed a message to his Lieutenant.

_Bull: "Lieutenant, move. I'll use the escape route."_

_LT: "Understood, boss."_

The bull furiously shoved the scroll to his pocket again.

_Why, Ruby?_

_Why were you not my partner?_

**Author's Note:**

> And that concludes it! Thank you for reading! Express any and all thoughts you have in the reviews, although I certainly don't mind you messaging me instead.
> 
> I could work an entire story based on this one-shot alone, but like I said, I'm NOT going to continue this unless I have the time. This one-shot's purpose is for practice, anyway.
> 
> Once again, thank you for reading 'Something about a Rose!'


End file.
